Weekday Lunch Date & Food Balance
Posted: April 14, 2011 at 8:33 amYou all are such a fabulous resource for racing tips! Thanks for the great suggestions in my last post. Some popular ones included:
- don’t go out too fast
- hydrate the day before so you don’t have to drink too much before the race <--- my weak bladder appreciates this one
- get enough sleep the night before
- believe I can do it
I am so excited for Saturday! Now, hopefully the weather will hold off from storming. Any tips on how to change the forecast? 😉
So, yesterday I had a nice little mid-week lunch date with Peter.
We had yet another Groupon to use up before its impending expiration date and I figured breaking up the week with a meet-up could serve us both well. We visited The Rising Roll – a “gourmet” sandwich shop found in the metro Atlanta area and a few other locations in Texas. They had a wide variety of sandwich choices, but one kept drawing my eye back to it. Clearly, I had to order it.
The Rhythm & Blues on multi-grain bread. Chicken salad topped with blue cheese, bacon, lettuce, and tomato.
It involved many of my favorite sandwich components all in one sandwich. Yes, please! On the side I had some delicious carrot salad with carrots, cranberries, walnuts, and apples in a light dressing with a hint of cinnamon flavor.
We picked up a brownie to split as well. They looked too decadent to not try one! And they were. Super fudgy inside with a nice chew on the outside and a bit of crunch from some nuts on top. Perfection.
This made for quite the pick me up during a rather standard day and week. In my opinion, little moments like this truly make such a difference.
On the drive home from my lunch with Peter, I got to thinking about how differently I approached that meal compared to years ago. Even though I currently am working towards achieving my “happy weight” post-baby, I felt no need to deprive myself of what I wanted for the sake of ordering something “good”. I originally did plan on eating one of their lighter sandwich options and did not anticipate having any dessert. Then, when looking at my options I knew I really felt like what I ended up ordering. I feel no guilt for it, either.
Beforehand, I would have found myself in a binge from this scenario. I would have felt so deprived and restricted from not ordering what I wanted that I would inevitably binge out of frustration. Or, on the other hand, I would have felt so guilty for “blowing my plan” that I would have just given up on trying to “be good” that day and binged as well. Now, I know that consistent choices for my health brings me my progress. Consistently not going overboard, paying attention to my hunger, honoring cravings reasonably, and not putting myself down will work to my advantage. I know I can have special meals and treats like this on occasion because on the whole I still make very wise decisions with how I choose to eat.
I enjoy my food, don’t allow myself to feel deprived, and therefore keep up my healthy habits, which bring me progress. Please don’t think you have to eat super strictly and never indulge to make progress on your fitness goals. If you can’t achieve a goal with some fun along the way, then you are probably working towards an unrealistic one. That’s my two cents anyways. Now, go find a moment of fun while working towards one of your goals today. I promise it is possible.
- What is a goal you’re working towards? How do you keep it fun/exciting?
Tags: dining out, family activities, healthy attitude, healthy eating, healthy habits, lunch
My goal right now is to be conscientious of whether or not I am truly happy in each activity that I am doing – whether it’s exercise, eating, going out, or even schoolwork. I’m working on really measuring how happy I am and adjusting my activities and schedule accordingly. I’m doing this because I feel like I spend too much time doing things because I’m “supposed” to, not because I WANT to.
That is inspiring. I think we should all take time to consider what we do, how we spend our time, and whether or not it fulfills us.
I want to run a trail across Essex County on my own as my first marathon.
http://gamereviewwiki.com/bikinibirthday/2011/04/12/bikini-livingfitness/
Nice, that pretty much sums up how I feel about healthy eating too! I pay little attention to what I order at restaurants because we eat at home much more often and I know that what I’m cooking for myself is healthy. It’s much easier to eat healthy every day knowing that I will get to honor my cravings eventually.
My goal right now is to maintain some sort of balance in life: work, Jason, friends, hobbies, blog, fitness, etc. But sometimes (like last weekend) I blew off fitness and just spent the weekend with Jason. That is ok — and in the past I would have totally blown off fitness for a few more days/weeks, but I started right back up this week with no problems.
Thank you for posting this! This is something I struggle with—the all or nothing diet mentality. Its hard for me to let myself indulge when I’m dieting because I feel bad and I always end up going overboard! I really admire your ability to listen and trust your body! Please do more posts on how to honor your cravings reasonably!
Your lunch date sounds lovely! Currently I’m working towards eliminating artificial sweeteners from my diet .I went 1 week without chewing any gum at all, but then realized I was getting grouchy because I knew I couldn’t turn to it. Instead of going cold turkey and eliminating it all together, I’ve just reduced the amount I chew (by a lot!) but don’t restrict myself from it because like I said, it puts me in a terrible mood to think I can’t have it!
I want to run a 5k with my Girls Group this summer, and one with my husband, brother-in-law and father-in-law. Plus, I want to finish the Warrior Dash in August. But, these races are all just part of my goal of making running a habit so I have quality me time during the day.
And that carrot salad looks sooo good. I never would’ve put cranberries in mine. Thanks for the idea!
That carrot salad sounds really interesting. Glad you had a nice lunch date with the hubby!!
It’s great that your attitude about food has changed so much. It’s important to treat yourself too! One can’t live on oatmeal alone.
I’m training for my first marathon in June–had a few setbacks but overall it’s going well!
Mmm…I know it’s not a goal you’d approve of, but I was trying to stay under 30 lbs of pregnancy weight gain. Dangerously close to losing that one with over a month to go! I suppose that I haven’t been able to keep it fun, and that’s the problem!
I used to do the same thing Tina. I would not allow myself to splurge EVER. Now I let it go. I enjoy the moment, but I’m always mindful of my health and my healthy goals. This was a huge thing for me and the other night, I realized that I just let myself have what I wanted, not what I thought I needed to have. Mentally, it’s so freeing to actually realize you feel that way now.
Looks like a fun lunch date! You are so right about intuitive eating. I am slowly earning to eat like this, and guess what? It works! I never feel deprived, but I also don’t get down on myself for not eating the ‘right thing’. And that totally translates into all other aspects of life. You’ve gotta have fun!
I’m about to go for a run- to keep it fun I’m not going to watch my pace or milage and just enjoy the beautiful weather! 🙂
I agree that it’s important to be able to indulge sometimes without the guilt!! You have a good mind set for reaching your goals. 🙂
Yes, yes, and yes! I’ve experienced a similar “A-ha!” moment when I realized that I could be focused on taking care of myself and simultaneously enjoying all of my favorite foods. So liberating!
I love your take on balanced eating! I used to deprive and binge quite often in my “past life.” And now that I think about it, my mindset was so anti-healthy that it’s sad. I’m glad I got to a happy place where I can eat what I want every now and then and not feel extremely guilty, and I’m glad you got there too!
In general, when I am going out to eat, I feel like that’s a pleasurable experience in my life and I only order something healthy if I also genuinely believe it will taste good and I won’t secretly be stealing longing glances at other people’s plates. Generally, I order what I crave!
Definitely! I will happily order something healthy if it sounds good and satisfying. But, I have had too many times where I order something and then sit through the entire meal drooling over others’ food. So true that happens!
I think the way to approach any eating plan (aka diet) is to ask yourself can you live this way for your ENTIRE LIFE. If the answer is no then you shouldn’t do it. Healthy living isn’t about being on a diet or workout regime that isn’t sustainable for the long term. Those always always lead to failure.
i’m so so excited for you! you’re gonna KILL IT on Saturday, you’ve worked so hard and have no excuse not to feel proud of yourself
That’s great that your way of eating has changed. I still deal with not ordering what I really want when I eat out. I’ve gotten way better at treating myself to the foods I crave because I would just end up binging in the past. I’ve gotten way better of not feeling guilty when I do indulge a little and I loved reading this post because I know it will help even more!
I love this, Tina. It is just so refreshing to see some balance going on around here in bloggy land. Balance and health go hand in hand, but being HAPPY as part of that is so huge to me. I’d rather enjoy that lunch with my hubs (like you did) and not feel guilty over it than go and order something I don’t even want to eat just because it was a lighter option. Like you said, it’s about choosing your battles – as long as you mostly choose healthy options, you can afford to “splurge” here and there without totally “blowing” your eating plan or whatever. I’m so with you – and I too wasn’t always like this. I used to fret over every morsel that entered my mouth and every workout I did had to have major calorie burns to be worth it. Now I couldn’t care less about the calorie burn, I care more about how it makes me FEEL. I scoffed at yoga and core fusion before because I thought it wasn’t ‘enough’ but I didn’t realize how great it would be for me mentally AND physically.
Can I get an amen to what my sis just said. So SO true. Deprivation is never good, IMHO.
I love random lunch dates! I think I need to bring those back. Hubby and I used to do them all the time when we first met and it was really fun.
That’s so great that you feel like you can treat yourself without entering into a binge or beating yourself up. I used to be like that as well (I’d eat horribly the rest of the day if I had just one bad thing…felt like the whole day was shot) and it’s comforting when you can just have what you want and move on. Sounds like you enjoyed it and did just that. 🙂
Good luck with your race!
Such a great post! It’s so true that eating a balanced but not restrictive diet is the best way to go. I’m so glad you have found such a happy, balanced place!
I’m working towards running a half marathon in June while training in a happy, healthy, and balanced way. So far so good! 🙂 I keep it interesting by making up new workouts for myself that I can share with readers and then writing about my experience.
What a great post! I totally agree with everything you said. One of the most important things I’ve learned throughout my eating and exercise struggles is how to pay attention to what I want and hunger cues. Sometimes having a little full fat, high calorie ice cream is what I want and attempting to satisfy is with something else only leads me to eat more than I would have to begin with. There’s room for indulgence in everyone’s life.
I so agree with your stance on health and fitness. If you’re trying to lose weight and aren’t doing something that sustainable for LIFE, then inevitably you’ll end up binging or regaining the weight once you lose the weight. I just relate so much to what you said about being allowed to eat what you want instead of restricting your eats and binging later or feeling like you overdid it and eating even more!
I can relate SO MUCH to this post! I think going with my gut on what I want to order is really important for me, because if I restrict and try to tell myself to stay away from something, I’ll inevitably overdo it later, rather than enjoying what I really want. Thanks for posting this!
I agree. My goal is to eat mainly real whole foods, but I will enjoy a treat now and then. Actually, I’m working on making treats truly occasionally instead of all the time. With exercise, my goal is to make my body stronger, and be able to run the races that I enjoy (at my own pace).
youre so freaking awesome- thanks for being SO honest!!!!!! you rock!
I strive to not feel guilty about my food choices. Most days I do ok, but eating out always gets me. I’m always looking for the healthiest option on the menu and don’t always consider what I may be craving or what sounds particularly good on that day. I don’t binge after a particularly unhealthy meal, but I don’t eat a lot of meals that are unhealthy either. I admire where you are.
Well said Tina! I definitely try to have the same perspective as you. My view is that if I develop healthy habits then its okay to splurge once in a while without any guilt. The unexpected result from developing these healthy habits has been that I actually enjoy the healthier options alot more than I ever thought I would ~ I find myself craving meals full of veggies and even the occassional salad!
What a fun mid-week treat. I need to remember to incorporate things like this into my schedule to keep me and Tyler happy and keep things exciting.
That sandwich looks amazing. I’ll have to recommend this place to my parents, they have a condo in ATL and love trying new restaurants.
I really admire how far you’ve come in your relationship with food. Doesn’t it send chills down your spine sometimes to know that you’ve liberated yourself from your ED? I know that I feel that way when I think of the slave to restriction that I was. I do think that you’re even healthier in your practical approach to balance than I am, though, and I truly derive inspiration from your posts. So, thank you for paving the way for my continued liberation. 🙂
Thanks, also, for posting on my wall about our Easter photos. I’m truly honored every time that you connect with me.
P.S. You and Peter are such a handsome (beautiful? what’s the appropriate term here?) couple. You exude happiness and contentment.
I know what you mean about the chills down the spine thing. Definitely happens to me. It’s amazing to think how different things are now.
And those photos were ADORABLE! I loved them. 🙂
I’m working towards adding more exercise into my routine. So far, so good!
I love your take on finding balance with food! I think just within the past 6 months I have started finding that balance. Before, I would ALWAYS order a salad when I went to a restaurant for fear that I would overeat. But, when I started ordering what I wanted, I was satisfied with half my meal and so much happier about my choice! It’s OK to indulge every once in awhile – it makes you so much happier and healthier overall! Thanks for being such an amazing inspiration! Can’t wait to hear about your race this weekend! I hope the weather holds off for you!
I don’t go out to eat very often so when I do go out I really like to enjoy the whole experience and not be concerned with the actual consumption part. Going out is celebrating to me and I think it should be enjoyed!
How fun that you got to have a date!!
My goal right now is to forgive myself when I make mistakes but to be smart about my food choices. I am also trying to get my pre-baby body back as well, so I really want to lose a few pounds but I don’t want to feel deprived in the process. I love reading your blog because it helps me to get motivated and inspired by you and all your hard work!
Your attitude is so positive! My goal is to PR in my next half, and I keep it exciting by mixing up my running routes.
I agree 100%. I have a lot of weight to lose, but I know that there is no such thing as “good” or “bad” food. It comes down to making choices. If I want a burger and fries fine; I’ll eat it, but it’s not every day. One splurge meal isn’t going to derail my goals and it’s refreshing to realize that the same meal doesn’t = me binging the rest of the day because I have “blown it.”
“If you can’t achieve a goal with some fun along the way, then you are probably working towards an unrealistic one.”
Words of wisdom, right there! Thank you for that.
I love your insight into food choices and feeling guilt-free for eating treats in moderation. We have to keep life fun – it’s our personal responsibility and we owe it ourselves. I have so many goals right now – yoga 3x a week, CrossFit 2 x a week. I keep it exciting by switching up different studios and locations and I go with friends from lululemon which always makes it fun!
That carrot salad really looks good! I might have to re-create that. Good luck on your race!! You’ll do great!
Oh my goodness- your food looks SO good. Love that giant sandwich. 😉
I love that you are no longer feeling guilt for enjoying something you love- allowing yourself to eat as you please (within reason) probably does wonderful things to your mood, emotions, and your sanity!
I love every single component of that delicious looking sandwich!! 🙂
It’s a pretty epic combo I must say.
I’ll be thinking of your this weekend!!! i think it’s SOOOOO amazing you are doing this race 3 months post baby! You are my hero!!! Best of luck you will rock it!
I love rising roll! I actually just had it on Tuesday for a lunch meeting – fabulous! Love how much ammunition you get out of groupons.
Can’t wait for your race recap – I know you’re going to do so well! For me, with goals, it’s all about challenging myself, tracking them and focusing on the benefits!
Love this post Tina!! I have had this happen to me many many times and I’m finally getting to a place where you are now….to just order what I want even if it’s indulgent, to then not feel guilty about it, and to then not feel like I wrecked my whole day of eating healthy. You’re so inspiring in showing us that you can have it all….it’s all about balance and everything will work out in the end with moderation and treating yourself and body with respect. I will always remember this post to bring me back up if I stumble and those demons pop back inside my head….thank you 🙂
i’ve started to really focus on listening to my hunger rather than boredom…with the whole wedding coming up a lot faster i’ve realized i’ve worked way to hard to let everything crumble over stress eating:)
Tina – another refreshing and honest post as always. I appreciate your willingness to tackle subjects that many are afraid to mention – like eating a brownie at lunch IS ok and you can STILL make progress and be happy.
Looks like a wonderful lunch date – y’all are gorgeous inside & out! 🙂
You look so pretty in that pic 🙂
Sounds like the brownie served its purpose – and that’s it!!
Please figure out how to change the weather forecast!
Jason said there is supposed to be severe winds tomorrow night. Ugh, ugh.
Rain dance? That’s all I got! LOL
Peter said he thinks the rain should be moving out before our race and it will just be cloudy for us. Here’s hoping!
That lunch looks fantastic!!! It is a great thing to be able to eat what you want and feel good about it, not guilty! We should not feel guilty for having somethng yummy to eat when we work so hard everyday to be healthy! I loved every bite of my Subway Chocolate Chip Cookie yesterday after I ate my 9 grain Honey Oat Oven Roasted Chicken Breast 6inch (no cheese or dressing) with TONS of veggies. I tracked it with WW and moved on, it was also the first I was able to enjoy a treat without the binge and guilt…one day, one guilt free moment at a time 🙂
Isn’t it such an awesome feeling? And Subway does make GREAT cookies!